Rebound Weekend

First let me start by saying the power of my Ballz is strong!

I was encouraged by Rick to not let another Friday go without my Turkey Ballz. I took his advice, and I have to give mucho thanks to him. I'm not sure WHAT it is about those ground gobbler balls that creates good ride weekends, but they do! And I am DEFINITELY looking into smuggling a camp stove into the Days Inn next Friday so as ensure that Cranky Monkey does not go ball-less. I'm sure I wouldn't be the first person to smuggle a small stove into a cheap hotel. Although I may be the first person to smuggle a small stove into a cheap hotel NOT to free base an illegal substance.

Anyway, back to the weekend. I am 99.9% over the pink eye and sore throat. I was still basking in the glow of yesterday's ride and last night's gin and tonic when I realized that I kick ass road ride would HAVE to happen today. It just has to. So, I did as ride junkies do. Got my bike shit together, stuff B-Man in the Soob and headed out to visit with my Dad and get some killer road miles in.

I was tired of my normal 40 mile loop and needed to get some bigger efforts in my legs, so I opted for an extended version which has me hitting a variety of slow 5/6 MPH climbs, hitting a bunch of back roads and going through at least two counties.

My legs were feeling good and it was nice to spin on the road after yesterday's time on single track. Doing a road ride the day after a long mountain bike ride just feels easier to me. Both on the mind and on the body. It makes for a nice recovery. During a mountain bike ride there's so much going on. If you relax TOO much you'll find yourself over the bars and in a ditch. That's why I love endurance mountain bike racing. ALWAYS something going on. I have a ton of respect for the endurance roadie folks. I have NO idea how they stay focused and don't "zone out" and fall asleep.

Today was just a perfect day for riding. Warm, but not TOO warm, a little breeze, blue sky and sun shine. The two main sights on today's ride were corn fields....

And junk yards...

One thing that I saw again today that I just do NOT understand, is a cyclists choose to ride against traffic. I passed a dude, who to his credit just came up a big mofo of a hill on sort of a hybrid bike, but was on the wrong side of the road. These are back roads with lots of blind corners. If I had been coming around the corner a little sooner we would have hit head on. OR worse, if a car or truck was coming around a corner the dude would have been another sad statistic.

I wanted to roll back and say something, and felt guilty that I didn't, but I didn't want to look like Mr. Thinks He Knows It All Roadie. So I just waved and said a prayer to the Ride Gods to watch out for him. I think some folks get "rules" mixed up. Maybe against traffic is the rule for running, walking, or doing that freaky ass shaking race walking that some people do, but for cycling it's WITH traffic and trying to obey the road rules. OR end up in a priest driven ambulance (name that band!)

I think the days off the bike help my body AND my motivation. I was lucky to get out two days in a row for some great riding. Both on dirt and on pavement. I hit 48.5 miles of sweet roads today and got in about 2:45 of riding. I hit a lot of climbs and the legs felt good. I have to say I had some serious Turkey Ball love coursing through the bod today and was damn happy to be on the bike after a week of skanky, red eyes and sore throats.

My apologies for the video above. This is what happens when you ride alone too much! No offence to any Italian, French or Spanish readers that I may have. I wish I could understand your languages when I watch foreign race telecasts. But sadly I was given the brain the size of an acorn and there is just NO room for me to comprehend languages.

All in all a great day and a great weekend on the bike. Very happy to be back. I will NEVER discount the power of my Ballz again. I may even start carrying a petrified Turkey Meatball in my pack to ensure that the T. Ball Mojo is always with me.

The only real downside to the weekend is the fact that Wifey now has pink eye and she's rocking it hard core! Truth be told it's hard to look at. She looks like a buxom red headed pirate. Arrrrrrrr! I kid of course. She's on the mends and it sucks to see her going through what I just went through.

Rest day tomorrow followed by a few short efforts during the week as I ready for the 12 Hours of Cranky Monkey. Stoked for the Monkey! Brink on the Monkey!!! Touch my Monkey!! Seriously touch it. I beg you.

Later.